Air conditioner



Nqv. 6, 1956 F. D. DAVISON 2,769,620

AIR CONDITIONER Filed May 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Shee t l day I I fig; a j r INVENTOR. 'FAA/K D, AV/SON,

ATTORNE).

Nov. 6, 1956 F. D. DAVISON AIR CONDITIONER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed- May 24,- 1954 INVENTOR.

F/INK D. D/! V/SO/V,

BY ATTOENEK.

United States Patent ce AIR CONDITIONER Frank D. Davison, Pasadena, Calif., assignor to III R. Goshaw, Beverly Hills, Calif.

This invention relates to an air-conditioning device, and particularly to a portable cooling device for use in automobiles, homes, oflices, trailers, etc. One modification of the device may provide heating as well as cooling.

Portable coolers of the general nature of this invention are known, as evidenced by U. S. Patent No. 2,432,755, of December 16, 1947. The cooler to be described hereinafter is economical in construction, it occupies a small space, and has a high rate of cooling wherever used. The principal feature of the invention is the manner of presenting finely divided water particles to moving air so that a high rate of evaporation is obtained. Another feature is the simple and eflicient manner in which the direction of the flow of cool air can be varied or controlled. An indicator of the water level is provided, one modification providing an A. C.-D. C. motor which may be operated off the standard automobile battery by simply plugging the motor into the regular cigarette lighter socket. With this modification, an adapter including a step-down transformer is provided for operating the device from the standard house current. The cooler is easily portable because of its lightweight and small size, and thus can be readily placed in difierent positions in an automobile, trailer, or other space in which it is to be used.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to facilitate the cooling of different enclosures.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved portable air-conditioning device which occupies a small space and has a high efficiency of cooling.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved portable cooler which may be operated from the batteries of automobiles.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device which may be used for both heating and cooling.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention, both as to the manner of its organization and the mode of its operation, will be better understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the invention as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cooler of the invention taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4- 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the water level indicator, and

Fig. 6 is a modification showing a heating unit embodied in the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in which the same numerals identify like elements, a cylindrical casing 5, which may also have other shapes, has a flat bottom plate 6 and an upper annular rim member 7 attached to the upper rim of casing 5 by screws 8. The casing 5 is Patented Nov. 6, 1956 mounted on four legs 9, having rubber feet 10, the legs being attached to the casing 5 by passing through hollow brackets 11. Since the legs are in the form of rods having vertical portions slidable in the brackets 11, the casing 5 may be adjustable as to height by set screws 12.

Within the casing 5 is a lower reservoir section or compartment 15 and an upper motor and fansection or compartment 16 separated by a plate or partition '17. A motor 19 having a shaft 23 is mounted on a U bracket 20 by bolts 21, the bracket being mounted to the plate 17 by bolts 22. Openings 24 are provided in the plate 17 to permit water to pass from the upper section 16 into the reservoir section 15.

Attached to the upperend of the vertical shaft 23' of motor 19 is a four-bladed fan 26, while attached to the lower end of the motor shaft is a centrifugal pump 27 located at the bottom of section 15. By a rubber hose 28, the fluid from the pump 27 is conducted upwardly to the center 30 of a pipe or conduit 31, which has small openings in the lower portion thereof and which has its ends 33 and 34 closed.

Positioned around the inner surface of the upper motor and fan section 16 is an annular wire basket 36, in which is an excelsior pad 37. Thus, the water passing through the holes in pipe 31 pumped from reservoir 15 falls on the upper edge of the eXcelsior pad 37, is divided into small particles, and by gravity moves towards the bottom of the pad. The outer walls of the upper section 16 of the casing 5 are provided with louvres 39, through which air is drawn, the air passing through the excelsior pad 37 and then driven upwardly by the fan 26. The upper end of section 16 of casing 5 is provided with a Venturi tube 40 made for increasing the air velocity.

Positioned over the upper edge of member 40 is a screen 41, over half of which is mounted a semi-circular air deflector 42, which together with the screen 41 is rotatable to any position, Thus, substantially one-half of the volume of the air directed upwardly by the fan 26 is shifted horizontally substantially to any angular horizontal position. As mentioned above, any water not evaporated by the air passing through the pad 37 will fall back into the reservoir 15 through the openings 24 in the plate 17.

The casing S is provided with a door 44, having a latch 45, through which the reservoir 15 may be provided with water. To indicate the level of the water 46, as shown in Fig. 5, a float 47 will position an indicator 48 connected to float 47 by the rod 49, a horizontal portion of the rod 49 being movable in the slot 51 in the casing 5.

To provide a holder for the cigarette lighter 53 of an automobile, which is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and which is removed from its socket 54, as shown in Fig. 1, a spring bracket 56 is provided. As shown in Fig. l, the connector 58 is inserted in the light socket 54 and connected to the motor by a cord 59. To control the rate of cooling, a two-position switch 61 is provided for the motor 19. The above-described cooler has been found to be particularly efiicient for the space it occupies, to be rugged, and easily portable to wherever it is desired to use it.

Referring now to Fig. 6, the same unit shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, is illustrated, this unit however being provided with an electrical heating coil 63, which may be connected to any suitable source of electrical energy. The coil 63 is supported on a rack 64 attached to an annular rim 65. When used as a heating unit, the water circulation may or may not be cut off, depending on the humidity desired.

1.- A portablei air cooler comprising-- a substantially uniform diameter casing having a normally vertical axis,

' an upper compartment, a lower compartment of substantially the same size as said uppe'r compartment, a parti tion--between said compartments-havingopenings therein to permit a fluid infsaid-uppercompartment to fljow into said lowercompartment; saidlower. compartmentserving-asfa fluid reservoir, aplatfohnonsaidpartition, a

motor on said platform in said upper compartment; said motor having avertical shaft, a fan mounted on the upper end-of saidshafg a-water pump posit-ioned at the bottom of said lower cempartment and-mounted-on the lower end-or"- said shaft, fluid-dividing material positioned along the inner-surface of the wall ofsaid uppercompartment,-

the' wall of said upper 4 compartment having openings therein to 'passairto said fluid+dividing material when said fan is rotated, means for conducting fluidfrom said pump tothe-upper surface of--saidflu-id dividing material, and asemi-hemisphericahair deflector rotatable above saidupper-compartment; said deflector covering substan-: tially one-halfof-said upper compartment,- the-position of 7 said deflector determining the substantially horizontal directiom of the; air deflected""thereby-during the :r'otation of said fan.

2. A portable air cooler in accordance with claim v1 in which a heating unit is positioned between said fan and said motor in the upper, portion of said upper com-- partment, said fluid dividing material filtering the, air

passing therethrough;

ReferencesCjtedinihe filer of; this, patent UI-IITEDSTATES PATENTS,

685,149 Keith Oct. 22, 1901 1,701,967 Bartels Feb. 12, 1929' 1,916,907 Sargent .July 4, 1933' 2,319,565 Stratton May 18, 1943 2,557,276 Gerow: a June, 19, 1951 7 2,600,926 Rudd June 17, 1952" 2,685,434 Underwood Aug. 3;- 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS V 9 431,357" Great Britain...; JulyS, 1935 

